Letters to the Editor: 07.03.08

I'm a constituent of U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz and a party to one of the lawsuits against AT&T for participating in Bush's warrantless wiretapping program that illegally collects all communications of all of AT&T's customers.

Innocent Americans with no connection to terrorism are being spied on without warrants as required by the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. This is illegal. By voting in favor of the 2008 FISA amendment, Solomon Ortiz voted to remove my First Amendment right to petition the court for redress of grievances against AT&T after the process began. In doing so, Ortiz has violated his oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and instead voted to push our government closer to fascism, where corporations and the government are one and the people are subjugated to their will.

Hopefully, the Senate will correct the abominable FISA amendment that passed the House by removing the telecom immunity provision.

Trent Lyda

Pay as you throw

Once-a-week trash collection is a good plan if it is coupled with once-a-week recycling.

As suggested numerous times by city staff, a capital investment in recycling with larger wheeled containers would create balance and convenience making it possible for most customers to manage their solid waste effectively and economically. If you are filling a 96-gallon bin two times a week, you are probably not recycling, and you should pay more by purchasing additional receptacles and/or paying a higher monthly rate. This "pay-as-you-throw" concept is used successfully all over the country.

Residents have become accustomed to low prices and extra services provided here that are unmatched in cities across the state. By shifting the responsibility onto the citizens and mandating recycling, we would drastically reduce the amount sent to the landfill while salvaging precious resources. Citizens must realize that recyclables are not trash, and solid waste management must adapt to fit our city's needs and fiscal responsibilities.

Daiquiri Richard

Pocket change

Barack Obama keeps stressing the need for change.

If he is elected president the American people can certainly expect it. In fact "change" is all we'll have left in our pockets, because the dollars bills will have gone for higher taxes, etc.

G. Ray Miller Jr.

Crisp has a point

The W.R. Jonas June 20, Letter to the Editor, which disparages John Crisp for his support of Thomas Friedman and his long-stated views on U.S. energy policy or lack thereof is a myopic attempt to ignore real world facts and place the blame on the messenger rather than those who originally deposited us in the current quagmire.

Several years ago when gasoline was approximately $1 per gallon, Friedman suggested a $1-per-gallon additional tax on gasoline as a means to encourage U.S. auto manufacturers to produce more fuel efficient cars. If the government had acted at that time, we would not be faced with as critical of a threat to our economy as what exists today. It is a fallacy to think that we can drill our way to lower fuel prices. All economic models have long indicated that energy costs will be greater in the future than in the past.

Rather than calling those who are delivering the message names, Jonas should look in his mirror and note the real elitist whose short-sighted views delivered us to the present sorry state of affairs.

And by the way, it was George W. Bush who stated that Americans were "addicted to oil," in one of the few times he spoke the truth.

Guy Matthews

Money-saving idea

With the current fuel and gasoline cost factors, Corpus Christi might consider continuing the same number of weekly trash pick-ups but only on one side of the street.

As it works now, the trash trucks make two trips on each block. In New York City, "alternate side of the street parking" allows unobstructed passage of emergency and service vehicles down the streets. In Corpus Christi, odd-numbered and even-numbered sides of the street could accommodate this plan. Citizens would only be required to take their trash cans to the other side once a week. The inconvenience should be balanced by the cost and time savings plus better access for many other services. Signs would need to be made for permanent institution but mass media plus monthly utility statements could implement more immediate action.